Arsenal were in need of a miracle as they entered the return leg of their Champions League tie with Bayern Munich.Trailing 5-1 from last month’s first fixture in Germany, the most optimistic Gunners fan started to believe when Theo Walcott gave the north London side the lead in the 20th minute.But things started to turn in the second half.Olivier Giroud missed a good opportunity to double Arsenal’s lead after the restart and then came the game’s turning point.In the 53rd minute, Laurent Koscielny brought down Robert Lewandowski in the area. The referee, Anastasios Sidiropoulos wasted no time in pointing to the spot and showing the Arsenal defender a yellow card.What followed was rather unusual.
Confusion
Seconds after dishing out a first yellow, Sidiropoulos then showed Koscielny a second - and sent him off.
It wasn’t immediately clear why. Some wondered if Koscielny had received a second yellow for dissent, while others believe the referee decided that the Frenchman had prevented a clear goalscoring opportunity, after interference from the fifth official from behind the goal.
Watch the incident below.
Video: Koscielny's sending off
Arsenal fans react
Arsenal fans were, naturally, furious.
Arsenal's lack of progress
Regardless of the reason behind it, Arsenal were down to 10 men and they quickly found themselves trailing.
Lewandowski sent David Ospina the wrong way from the ensuing penalty and Arjen Robben made it 7-2 to Bayern on aggregate when he capitalised on some terrible defending from the hosts.
It means Arsenal will exit the last-16 of the Champions League for the seventh straight year. If ever there was a sign of Arsenal’s lack of progress…